Australian Gamer
Encyclopedia
Australian Gamer is a video gaming website
that focuses on the gaming scene in Australia
. It was created in 2005 by gaming friends Matt Burgess and Guy "Yug" Blomberg in order to give Australia a voice within the gaming world after the release of Dance Dance Revolution
was cancelled in Australia; Australia is notoriously neglected when it comes to video game releases. The site previously featured a semi-regular Penny-Arcade style comic update illustrated by Guy Blomberg and is accompanied by a "rant" by Matt Burgess on the same topic. A weekly podcast frequently follows the post as well as a community-based debate in the site's forum which discuss a variety of topics including the apparently obvious topic of the state of gaming in Australia, as well as gaming in general. The forums however are renowned amongst fans of the site for both their total lack of professionalism and dignity as well as deep, thoughtful discussions.
and noticed that the release date for Australia kept getting pushed back until it was wiped off of the release schedule. Yug and Matt decided to create an Australian-based website to voice their opinions via podcasts.
Outside of Australian Gamer, Yug is one of the founding creators of The Mana Bar
; an Australian cocktail bar and video gaming lounge in Brisbane
, Australia
.
(now 2K Australia), Krome Studios
, Auran
, THQ Studio Australia
, The Creative Assembly
and Lava Injection (now Game Audio Australia). The pair also had the opportunity to interview Uwe Boll
on his game-based movie Postal http://www.australiangamer.com/podcast/Australian_Gamer_Podcast_063.mp3.
The Sydney Morning Herald
has referred to the podcast as "an influential podcast on gaming", and Sumea, Australia's leading gaming industry resource said, "they're the Roy and H.G. of gaming", and produce not only the best local gaming podcast around, but is up there with the best the rest of the world has to offer". In November 2006 the podcast was listed as one of iTunes Music Store's featured podcasts for Australia, prominently joining ABC Radio and the National Geographic Podcast.
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw
is occasionally featured on the podcasts, as a recurring guest.
. Shortly afterwards, the GAME1 prize money was paid at last.
In addition, the site has come under fire for a comic strip making light of the death of famed World Rally Champion Colin McRae
. The comic depicted a mock game cover and the title “Colin McRae Helicopter Racing”. The controversy was not limited to just the Australian Gamer site, when several local gaming news identities spoke of their disapproval of the comic.
Earlier in 2007, writer AJ had a public debate with BigPond
’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Craig Middleton over the terms and conditions of a gaming promotion, Project Joystick. AJ took exception to the fact that BigPond would take ownership of the top 10 finalists’ Intellectual Property and what followed became something of a public slanging match. This generated a large amount of discussion in the local industry with Independent Game Development site Sumea
and respected gaming site PALGN picking up the story. Australian video game magazine, Hyper
(produced by Next Media Pty Ltd), carried an editorial on the subject, including quotes from AJ and Craig Middleton's online discussion.
Website
A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...
that focuses on the gaming scene in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It was created in 2005 by gaming friends Matt Burgess and Guy "Yug" Blomberg in order to give Australia a voice within the gaming world after the release of Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution
Dance Dance Revolution, abbreviated DDR, and previously known as Dancing Stage in Europe and Australasia, is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, Dance Dance Revolution is the...
was cancelled in Australia; Australia is notoriously neglected when it comes to video game releases. The site previously featured a semi-regular Penny-Arcade style comic update illustrated by Guy Blomberg and is accompanied by a "rant" by Matt Burgess on the same topic. A weekly podcast frequently follows the post as well as a community-based debate in the site's forum which discuss a variety of topics including the apparently obvious topic of the state of gaming in Australia, as well as gaming in general. The forums however are renowned amongst fans of the site for both their total lack of professionalism and dignity as well as deep, thoughtful discussions.
History
Australian Gamer started out when Yug and Matt wanted to play Dance Dance Revolution for the XboxXbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and noticed that the release date for Australia kept getting pushed back until it was wiped off of the release schedule. Yug and Matt decided to create an Australian-based website to voice their opinions via podcasts.
Outside of Australian Gamer, Yug is one of the founding creators of The Mana Bar
Mana Bar
Mana Bar is the first Australian cocktail bar and video gaming lounge located in Brisbane, Australia within its biggest night-life and entertainment district, Fortitude Valley. The bar held its opening event on 20 March 2010. The bar allows visitors to play current generation gaming consoles free...
; an Australian cocktail bar and video gaming lounge in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Podcasts
Australian Gamer produces a weekly (though not so much these days) podcast covering the latest news and goings on in the game world and gaming in Australia. It is now one of the longest running gaming podcasts in Australia. The podcast is wholly produced and hosted by Guy Blomberg and Matt Burgess, also known as Yug and Matt, and frequently features guests from the local gaming industry. The pair have interviewed developers and producers from companies such as Irrational GamesIrrational Games
Irrational Games is a video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier as Irrational Games...
(now 2K Australia), Krome Studios
Krome Studios
Krome Studios is an Australian video game company. Its headquarters are in Brisbane and it previously had offices in Adelaide and Melbourne. Krome Studios is best known for their Ty the Tasmanian Tiger games and for revitalising the Spyro the Dragon series...
, Auran
Auran
N3V Games is an Australian video game developer and publisher based in Brisbane, Queensland.-History:Auran was established by Greg Lane and Graham Edelsten in 1995, and released its first game, Dark Reign: The Future of War, in 1997...
, THQ Studio Australia
THQ Studio Australia
THQ Studio Australia was one of the subsidiaries of electronic game publisher THQ. Based in Brisbane Australia, the studio have developed titles for last and current generation games consoles and managed the development of hand held versions of their games utilizing smaller local and interstate...
, The Creative Assembly
Creative Assembly
The Creative Assembly is a British video game developer established in 1987 by Tim Ansell and based in the West Sussex town of Horsham. An Australian branch is also operated from Fortitude Valley, Queensland...
and Lava Injection (now Game Audio Australia). The pair also had the opportunity to interview Uwe Boll
Uwe Boll
Uwe Boll is a German director, producer and screenwriter, whose work includes several films adapted from video games. He finances his own films through his Boll KG production company. He is often cited as the worst director of all time.-Early life:...
on his game-based movie Postal http://www.australiangamer.com/podcast/Australian_Gamer_Podcast_063.mp3.
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald
The Sydney Morning Herald is a daily broadsheet newspaper published by Fairfax Media in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1831 as the Sydney Herald, the SMH is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Australia. The newspaper is published six days a week. The newspaper's Sunday counterpart, The...
has referred to the podcast as "an influential podcast on gaming", and Sumea, Australia's leading gaming industry resource said, "they're the Roy and H.G. of gaming", and produce not only the best local gaming podcast around, but is up there with the best the rest of the world has to offer". In November 2006 the podcast was listed as one of iTunes Music Store's featured podcasts for Australia, prominently joining ABC Radio and the National Geographic Podcast.
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw
Ben Croshaw
Benjamin Richard "Yahtzee" Croshaw is an English comedic writer, video game journalist and author of adventure games created using Adventure Game Studio software. He writes articles for Australia's Hyper magazine, a major games publication...
is occasionally featured on the podcasts, as a recurring guest.
Controversy
Australian Gamer has become somewhat infamous in the local industry as being outspoken and controversial. Most recently they brought attention to the fact that the winners of the 2007 Game1 LAN gaming competitions had not received their prize money. After Australian Gamer writer and LAN competitor Andrew Starkey brought it to attention that the winners had been waiting well over a month for payments, the issue suddenly gained attention from other gaming websites, including KotakuKotaku
Kotaku is a video games-focused blog. It is part of Gawker Media's "Gawker" network of sites, which also includes Gizmodo, Deadspin, Lifehacker, io9 and Jezebel. Named to CNET News' Blog 100, Kotaku is consistently listed in the top 40 of Technorati's Top 100...
. Shortly afterwards, the GAME1 prize money was paid at last.
In addition, the site has come under fire for a comic strip making light of the death of famed World Rally Champion Colin McRae
Colin McRae
Colin Steele McRae, MBE was a Scottish rally driver born in Lanark.The son of five-time British Rally Champion Jimmy McRae and brother of rally driver Alister McRae, Colin McRae was the 1991 and 1992 British Rally Champion and, in 1995, became the first British person and the youngest to win the...
. The comic depicted a mock game cover and the title “Colin McRae Helicopter Racing”. The controversy was not limited to just the Australian Gamer site, when several local gaming news identities spoke of their disapproval of the comic.
Earlier in 2007, writer AJ had a public debate with BigPond
BigPond
BigPond is an Australian Internet service provider and is a product of Telstra. BigPond is Australia's largest ISP and based in Melbourne.- Internet :...
’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Craig Middleton over the terms and conditions of a gaming promotion, Project Joystick. AJ took exception to the fact that BigPond would take ownership of the top 10 finalists’ Intellectual Property and what followed became something of a public slanging match. This generated a large amount of discussion in the local industry with Independent Game Development site Sumea
and respected gaming site PALGN picking up the story. Australian video game magazine, Hyper
Hyper (magazine)
Hyper is a multi-platform Australian video game magazine. Australia's longest running gaming magazine, it has been in publication since 1993, and was released the same month as the better known UK magazine Edge...
(produced by Next Media Pty Ltd), carried an editorial on the subject, including quotes from AJ and Craig Middleton's online discussion.